Wyman-Gordon land vital to Canal District

Monday

Dec 31, 2012 at 6:00 AMDec 31, 2012 at 9:40 PM

Depending on your vantage point, the view of the Wyman-Gordon property off Madison Street varies throughout the Canal District. The same could be said for perspectives on how to develop the parcels — dormant swaths of former industrial land in an otherwise vibrant neighborhood that were recently eyed as a possible location for a slots parlor and boutique hotel.

By Steven H. Foskett Jr. TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Depending on your vantage point, the view of the Wyman-Gordon property off Madison Street varies throughout the Canal District.

The same could be said for perspectives on how to develop the parcels — dormant swaths of former industrial land in an otherwise vibrant neighborhood that were recently eyed as a possible location for a slots parlor and boutique hotel.

Soon after news broke this month that Cambridge developer Richard L. Friedman was considering the site as a location for a slots parlor, the City Council, while expressing somewhat cautious optimism that the vacant lots would be developed, passed an order to explore the possibility of taking the parcels — owned by the Oregon-based parent company of Wyman-Gordon — by eminent domain, a move that would presumably give the city more control over how the land is developed.

The first thing John G. Giangregorio wanted to clear up in a recent telephone interview is that the Wyman-Gordon parcels are not “downtown.” They are firmly part of the Canal District, the collection of neighborhoods that runs from Union Station to Brosnihan Square and includes the Green Island neighborhood in the Millbury Street-Crompton Park area, said Mr. Giangregorio, president of the Canal District Alliance Inc. and chairman of the Canal District Business Association.

“We are not abutters,” he said. “Wyman-Gordon is in the Canal District.”

Mr. Giangregorio said it's important for the district to build its brand as a lively mix of entertainment venues, restaurants, businesses and watering holes. Part of that is actually having a visible canal to live up to its name. The district seeks to be included with possible plans by the National Park Service to make the Blackstone River Valley a national park. Mr. Giangregorio, who owns Three G's Sports Bar on Millbury Street, said attracting quality development could be an opportunity for the district to get the canal reopening paid for with private funds, similar to how mitigation funds the city secured from the CSX rail yard expansion on Franklin Street have been used to fund initiatives and improvements. He said cities such as Indianapolis, Oklahoma City and San Antonio have undertaken similar projects with success.

“It's a model that works,” he said.

Mr. Giangregorio said he doesn't have a problem with the idea of a gaming operation coming to the city, or the district.

“We're pretty excited that a quality developer is looking at a project in Worcester,” he said. “Certainly any project that complements the progress of the Canal District will integrate itself well.”

He said the gaming legislation contains regulations that make sure the development meshes well with the surrounding community, and he said the City Council will need to “hold the developer's feet to the fire.” He said there should be local preference for jobs during and after construction, and there should be requirements that the gaming operation use local goods and services. But generally, he said it could be a boon to the district and, by extension, the city.

“We're curious, and eager to see what happens,” Mr. Giangregorio said.

From his residence in the renovated former Ash Street School atop a hill between Green and Madison streets, Allen W. Fletcher has a pretty good view of the Wyman-Gordon properties. The longtime Canal District advocate and former publisher of Worcester Magazine said in a telephone interview Friday he's not so sure slots or a casino operation are the right fit for the city.

He said he fears harm to the surrounding neighborhood — there would likely be little economic spinoff and, Mr. Fletcher added, he fears such a development would inevitably attract “opportunistic, casual crime” in the surrounding neighborhoods.

A better fit for the neighborhood would include some sort of mixed-use development. He said the site might be a good spot for an ice skating complex, since the Worcester Business Development Corp.'s draft master plan proposing rinks in the McGrath municipal lot next to the library has generated some pushback. He questioned the economic benefits of the slots project for the area. Historically, gaming operations tend to be insular, he said.

“I don't know what kind of slots parlor it is intended to be,” Mr. Fletcher said. “But the whole intention is to keep people captive, to not let them out to eat — it's totally self-contained.”

Neil Smith, owner of Goldstein's Scrap Metal on Lamartine Street, said Friday any development on the Wyman-Gordon land would be good for the area, and said he wasn't opposed to the idea of a gaming operation. He said he also hopes that the development would unlock several Wyman-Gordon owned properties in the neighborhood for development, possibly for residential or retail uses.

Lorraine Laurie, a longtime Green Island advocate, said she hasn't heard of a groundswell of resident opposition to the idea of a gaming operation. But she also said the neighborhood has more immediate needs, such as a bank or a grocery store.

“Something on our side of the city,” Ms. Laurie said.

Whatever happens on the site, Christian Gakpo and his family will look at it every day from their home at 10 Grosvenor St. Mr. Gakpo's wife is a pastor with the Presbyterian Church of Ghana on nearby Lafayette Street, and the house is directly across the street from the Wyman-Gordon property that would likely be developed.

“Personally, I'm not a person who believes in gambling,” Mr. Gakpo said Saturday night of the snow-covered asphalt expanse across the street. He added that he would be happier with a mixed-use development there. But he wondered how increased access to such a large development would even be possible without some sort of flyover from the highway that bypasses Kelley Square.

“In my opinion, it wouldn't be a good idea, the primary reason being access to (Interstate) 290 through Kelley Square. It's a huge factor. I know people who don't want to come here because of Kelley Square.”

Along with Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Smith, Mr. Giangregorio cautioned that all the talk of slots is just speculation until the $400,000 application fee required by the state is turned in and the rights to establish a gaming site are secured. Massachusetts law allows for up to three resort casinos, but only one slots parlor, and the state's existing race tracks are thought to be favored for the slots license, administered by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville is the only applicant so far for that license. And ultimately, if the plan progresses far enough, city voters will have the final say in a citywide election.

Mr. Giangregorio said Mr. Friedman is a quality developer, and said it's important that the city build relationships with developers like him. He said that if Mr. Friedman can't get slots, perhaps he can bring a mixed-use development to the site.

“We need to welcome businesses,” Mr. Giangregorio said.

Mr. Fletcher said he had a “totally negative” reaction to the slots parlor plan, but is willing to at least listen.

“My mind is open, my prejudice is quite large and well-informed,” Mr. Fletcher said. “Show me where it has had a positive effect.”